To treat cancer effectively, you need to understand that it’s a disease affecting the whole body, says Dr Leigh Erin Connealy. Here are her top holistic approaches to beating cancer and living a disease-free life
When I lecture about holistic approaches to cancer, I often use the iceberg analogy. You have likely seen an image of a small, snow-capped point above arctic water and a massive frozen mass looming below.
This is where the saying “It’s just the tip of the iceberg” comes from. The same is true for cancer. It’s not always about the lump or bump but what lies beneath.
Patients who come to see us at the Cancer Center for Healing are sometimes surprised by the multiple aspects of health and history we consider before beginning treatment. Our holistic approach leaves no stone unturned.
We go beyond the regular physical examination and routine diagnostics to uncover contributing factors to poor health, such as unresolved conflicts and past trauma, chronic stress and anxiety, a disconnect from regular self-care practices, sleep issues and general bodily terrain. As we peel back the layers, the truth is revealed: It’s never “just” cancer.
Cancer is more than a diagnosis or a label. It’s a cry for help from your body, a need for healing on a deeper level.
Cancer isn’t simply a tumor or an afflicted organ. It’s a systemic, total-body disease. As such, effective treatment must encompass various medicinal disciplines—both conventional and integrative—and lifestyle approaches that focus on restoring balance and engendering healing. Furthermore, you must address the triggers that set the stage for disease in the first place.
A healthy body thrives in a state of homeostasis (balance), and getting the body realigned and back to equilibrium should be the goal if you wish to heal from cancer or other chronic diseases. Here are four key ways you can start making immediate changes to support your healing journey.
Proper nutrition is the foundation for health and healing. Sadly, modern lifestyles tend to be filled with convenience foods and suboptimal foods as the fuel of choice for many. If you want to improve your health, start in the kitchen.
Most of my patients do well on a modified ketogenic diet, a nutritional plan based on these core components:
If possible, choose organic foods for the most nutrient-dense, pesticide-free punch.
Avoid nutritionally void carbohydrate-laden items such as baked goods, processed foods, desserts, sugary drinks and fast food. Select your foods as our ancestors did: If you can grow it, pick it or hunt it, go for it.
You should also steer clear of inflammatory foods like these:
Even if you eat a well-rounded diet full of healthful foods, there may still be gaps in your nutrition. Over the years, our soil has become depleted, pesticides and toxins are used now more than ever, and water supplies carry potential contaminants as well.
This is where a solid nutritional supplement program can help. Working with a knowledgeable practitioner well versed in supplements and nutrition is essential to create a tailored plan that considers your personal vitamin, mineral and nutrient needs. To find one near you, visit the website of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (acam.org) or the Institute for Functional Medicine (ifm.org).
I mentioned earlier that people are often surprised by how much we delve into a person’s mental health, past traumas and unresolved conflicts. That’s because every single patient I have encountered with cancer has a significant amount of stress and imbalance in their lives.
Whether it’s divorce, financial struggles, conflicts with family or any other major stressor, it takes a toll on the body. Researchers agree that chronic stress not only is toxic but also contributes to unhealthy coping mechanisms and poor lifestyle habits. Stress creates a hospitable environment for malignant cells to grow and thrive.
If you’re experiencing undue stress in your life, finding ways to ease your mental load is essential. Several practitioner-guided therapies and tools are available to de-stress at home. The following are some of my favorites.
EVOX therapy
EVOX therapy is a godsend for patients who need to reduce stress and heal emotional trauma. It works by using “perception reframing.”
When a person speaks, the energy in their voice represents how they feel about specific topics. EVOX records voice energy, plots it on a Perception Index graph, and determines which frequency signatures would best reduce a patient’s unique stressors.
These signatures are transferred to a hand cradle and transmitted back to the patient as they listen to relaxing music and concentrate on the topic at hand. EVOX therapy is a remarkable tool that “remaps the brain” and helps eliminate stress and anxiety. As one of the many biofeedback tools we use, it’s so effective that we recommend it to every new patient who comes to the Center.
Meditation / deep breathing
Instead of drawing deep, mindful breaths from the diaphragm, most people automatically take rapid, shallow breaths from the chest, to the detriment of their health. Deep, mindful breathing floods the body with healing oxygen, infusing cells with this life-giving element and reducing stress and anxiety.
Coupling deep breathing with meditation, which is sometimes called mindfulness meditation (MM), has profound effects on health and healing. In a groundbreaking study of Taiwanese patients with several different cancer types and disease stages, researchers found that those who practiced just a handful of MM sessions each month experienced markedly improved quality of life in several key areas.1
Furthermore, benefits were still statistically significant three months after the participants stopped practicing MM. A handful of key areas they examined included pain levels, sleep quality, fatigue, need for medications, mobility, concentration, self-esteem, body image, sexual health, personal relationships, diet and overall health. This study and a vast body of growing scientific evidence suggest a powerful link between MM and well-being.
If you’re new to meditation or deep breathing, watch a YouTube video or download one of the many apps that can walk you through how to practice correctly.
Yoga, tai chi and qigong
Three excellent relaxation and stress reduction practices rooted in ancient healing are yoga, tai chi and qigong. All three involve calming the mind, focusing on breath work and performing specific bodily movements to engender health.
Regardless of their health status, I always encourage my patients to incorporate exercise and movement into their daily lives. Using the additional spiritual-physical connection of yoga, tai chi and qigong provides additional layers of benefits, including improved sleep, better balance, a bolstered immune system, lower cortisol levels and lower anxiety.
Thousands of books have been written on the benefits and proper techniques for practicing these disciplines. You can also take classes at local gyms or studios, watch YouTube videos, or download apps to practice them in the comfort of your own home.
Additional de-stressing techniques
I won’t delve too deeply into the following strategies since most of them are self-explanatory. Incorporate as many as possible into your days and evenings, and note how much less stress you feel after practicing them regularly.
If you think missing out on the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night isn’t a big deal, you may want to reset your mindset about sleep hygiene. Regular, good-quality shuteye boasts several benefits, from cardiovascular and brain health to immune function and weight management. Research also suggests that missing out on sleep increases your risk of developing cancer.
In 2023, researchers looked at nearly 15,000 people over age 45 in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. They examined the link between cancer and nighttime sleep duration, napping, and total sleep time.
The data showed that those who slept fewer than six hours per night had a 41 percent higher cancer risk than their peers who slept six to eight hours. Those who did not report napping for an hour or more each day had a 60 percent higher risk of developing cancer. And total sleep duration of less than seven hours a day resulted in a 69 percent higher cancer risk.2
It’s clear that if you want to ward off cancer, you need to prioritize sleep. This means creating a regular sleep schedule with set wind-down activities and a consistent bedtime and wake time.
Start by taking these steps every night:
If you need help falling asleep, try a non-habit-forming natural sleep aid like the amino acid GABA or the sleep hormone melatonin, although melatonin is only available via prescription in the UK. Use as directed.
Starting with a clean slate is always a good idea, and ridding your mind, body and home of toxins is necessary. Whether it’s the toxic thoughts clogging our minds, the chemicals we ingest and lather on our bodies, or the environmental pollutants that sneak into our homes in the form of air pollution, paint fumes, or upholstery and carpet off-gassing, most people need a solid cleanse to keep cancer at bay or prepare their bodies for healing.
Let’s look at a few quick steps we can take to cleanse all areas of our lives.
Body
Almost all my patients undergo a 21-day cleanse to start their treatment regimens. Flushing out toxins and restoring homeostasis to the body is essential.
We use the Purification Process from Standard Process, which must be ordered through a physician’s office, but other reputable cleansing systems exist. That said, I urge you to work with a practitioner who is well versed in cleansing to give you the best chance of success and ensure you follow protocols correctly.
Mind
Preparing yourself mentally to tackle a health battle is more important than many realize. I always tell patients to create their cancer care team.
This group usually includes spiritual or religious advisors who can help guide them and lend a listening ear; dear friends and family members who can offer emotional support and help with medical and other tasks; and a solid integrative team specializing in the mind-body connection to healing.
Home
The number of toxins lurking around our homes and in our cleaning and personal products is alarming. Start reading labels closely and visit sites like ewg.org to search their databases for safe-to-use household products, makeup, and personal care items (also check out Healthy Shopping: How to Shop for Nontoxic Products).
Clean up your indoor air by purchasing HEPA filters or propolis diffusers such as Propolair (see Resources, below), which release bee propolis into the air to destroy, mold, bacteria, air pollutants and more. You can also buy plants known for their air-scrubbing qualities, such as peace lilies, English ivy, aloe vera, philodendrons, snake plants, spider plants and bamboo.3
Finally, opt for hardwood flooring over carpet and search the internet for non-toxic mattresses and upholstery options.
At the Cancer Center for Healing, we use a variety of diagnostic tests to determine which targeted cancer therapies will work best for each person on a case-by-case basis. There is no one-size-fits-all protocol for every cancer type, so tailoring treatments is essential.
One way we do this is by using specific blood tests from RGCC Labs that indicate the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the body and clue us in to which targeted therapies will be most effective for each patient. From there, we can explore innovative treatments such as high-dose IV vitamin C, fractionated chemotherapy with a bio response modulator (FCBRM), hyperbaric oxygen, nutritional and supplemental approaches, and other proven therapies that attack cancer from several angles.
Again, personalization of protocols is vital because every person is unique and every cancer is different. Working with a skilled practitioner who values this custom-made approach is essential. Find one near you by visiting acam.org or ifm.org or see Integrative Cancer Care: How to Find a Clinic or Practitioner.
Many factors and choices positively and negatively impact our health daily. This is excellent news because it means we can take steps every day toward improved well-being.
Using an arsenal of well-researched and effective integrative and conventional therapies coupled with healthy lifestyle measures allows patients to set the stage for the best possible outcomes for long, health-filled lives free of disease.
Many people don’t realize the importance of keeping the body in an alkaline state. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment, so doing everything possible to help the body maintain its natural alkalinity can help promote health and treat disease.
A simple saliva test using a pH strip (available online from several retailers) can measure your body’s daily pH levels and help keep you in the ideal range. The pH scale, an abbreviation for “power of hydrogen,” is simple. It runs from 0 to 14, and 7 is neutral. Numbers lower than 7 indicate an acidic state, while numbers above 7.8 or 8.0 suggest an overly alkaline state.
The goal is to keep levels slightly alkaline, right around 7.43. One way to do this is to increase your intake of alkalizing foods, such as most fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes. Avoid or limit acidifying foods and beverages like processed foods, sodas and alcohol. And consider adding vitamins and minerals that help balance pH, such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, to your supplement regimen.
Note that this is about the effects of foods in the body, not whether the foods themselves are acidic. For example, lemons are acidic but have an alkalizing effect in the body.
Dr Leigh Erin Connealy recommends using propolis diffusers as one way to improve indoor air. But what exactly are they, and where can you get them?
Propolis is a sticky, resin-like substance made by bees that’s known to have antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Propolis diffusers gently heat capsules or tablets of pure propolis to release its vapors into the air, without the need for water or oils (unlike traditional essential oil diffusers). They’re said to reduce indoor air pollutants like mold, bacteria, viruses, allergens and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Some diffusers include ionizers to enhance air purification.
Propolair, manufactured by Italian company Kontak, is considered a trusted, leading brand of propolis diffusers with a wide range of models sold around the world. Here are a few companies selling Propolair diffusers online. Prices start around $115 if you’re in the US or £110 if you’re in the UK.
US
Happy Culture
happycultureinc.com
Bee Healthy Farms
beehealthyfarms.com
Perfectly Healthy
perfectlyhealthy.com
UK
Amazon
amazon.co.uk
KI Science
kiscience.com
IP-ROCO Apitherapy
ip-roco.com
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